Big Marijuana is here: Lecture focuses on the effects of legal marijuana

WORLAND – “The traditional pot theory is antiquated,” said Ben Cort during a presentation on the effects of marijuana legalization in Worland on Friday. “If we apply the construct that marijuana is just the same old plant we’ve identified with since the 1970s, then we are missing the point of the conversation. Big Marijuana is here. It’s a business.”

Cort, a spokesman for Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), director of professional relations at the Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation in Denver, and the author of “Weed, Inc.: The Truth About the Pot Lobby, THC, and the Commercial Marijuana Industry,” spoke before a crowd of interested citizens, law enforcement and mental health professionals at the Washakie Museum.

Speaking on the changing role of marijuana in society with legalization in Colorado and Washington, and the way the narcotic has become stronger due to legalized growing and distribution, Cort emphasized that while those states were eager to legalize for profit, they failed to recognize the need to document the effects of legalization, especially on the youth in those states.

“To understand what’s happening, first you have to realize that the face of marijuana has changed,” said Cort, emphasizing the increased levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the principal psychoactive constituent of the plant. A combiner also found in marijuana is Cannabidiol, or CBD, which provides the medicinal properties of cannabis and works to neutralize the effects of THC. While isolated CBD has had some medicinal benefits for cancer and neurological patients, isolated THC (through various forms of distillation) has made the “high” properties of the plant stronger than ever before.

Due to advanced hydroponic gardening and crystalized isolation of THC by producers, levels of the psychoactive have skyrocketed from 5 percent per ounce in the 1970s to almost 45 percent today. Some concentrated THC products available in Colorado contain up to 95 percent THC.

By isolating THC through a gas process, the compound takes on a solid form that can be added to a never-ending range of products that don’t require traditional smoking, including candy, food, soft drinks, coffees, medicines, oils, and beauty products.

As an example of the threat to underage users, who still haven’t fully developed physically, Cort pointed out that over-the-counter THC candies can have as much as 200 milligrams of highly-concentrated THC per piece (or 10-20 doses). The effects of that volume of THC has not been fully recorded, but studies suggest regular use could lead to increased anxiety, worsened bipolar disorder, and higher rates of depression.

“This is not the old pot,” said Cort. “The kids now have access to stuff we never dreamed of and they just laugh when you mention ‘weed’ or ‘420’. It’s a whole new ball game.”

Examining how marketing has affected the culture in weed-legal Colorado, Cort showed examples of advertisements for recreational marijuana stores that use cartoons and teen-inspired icons to advertise specials and coupons. Currently, Colorado has no regulation to control advertising.

“While the kids can’t walk in and buy it yet, what they [the advertisers] are doing is setting them up now, by targeting them with things they recognize, to become potential customers and regular users when they are legal.”

Recognizing that younger users are more likely to become regular or life-long users of any addictive substance, Cort argued that early use could add to long-term effects, including impaired memory, coordination, increase for heart problems, respiratory problems and cardiovascular effects.

“Unfortunately, Colorado was in such a rush to legalize, that they forgot to watch the long-term effects to health care. We are just now starting to do that,” said Cort.

A 2016 study by SAM on the effects of legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington concludes that more study needs to be done to evaluate the following: emergency room and hospital admissions related to marijuana; marijuana potency and price trends in the legal and illegal markets; school incidents related to marijuana; extent of marijuana advertising toward youth and its impact; marijuana-related car crashes, including THC levels even when BAC is over 0.08; mental health effects of marijuana; effect on the market for alcohol and other drugs; cost to workplace and employers and the impact on employee productivity.

The Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police sponsored Friday’s presentation.